By Floyd Shivambu
THE uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) adopted its constitution on September 26, 2024, and after further and in-depth legal and conceptual clarifications, publicly issued it on Friday, October 11.
The MKP is possibly one of the most important political documents in South Africa’s struggle and resistance against colonialism and apartheid. The constitution sets a clear political and ideological agenda to achieve total emancipation from colonialism and its vestiges.
Empirically, the constitution bases its political thesis on the correct observation that South Africa’s oppression has multiple manifestations, which must be fought and defeated in totality.
Black and indigenous people remain colonised subjects with little political rights, no economic freedom, and cultural freedom. Their institutions of governance have been relegated to insignificance.
The most important highlight of the constitution is that colonial conquest happens because the “white colonial settlers defeated and subjugated the black majority and Africans in South Africa because the resistance and struggle against colonialism were fought by small groups of indigenous leaders and clans.
“White colonial settlers defeated and subjugated the black majority and Africans in South Africa because the resistance and struggle against colonialism was fought by small groups of indigenous leaders and clans.
“In their journey of colonial conquest and subjugation, the white colonial settlers never encountered black people as a unified opposition against colonialism. While the liberation movement attempted to unite the forces of resistance from 1912 onwards, the period we are in has stratified and continues to divide black political resistance to neo-colonialism.“
It is evident that the constitution of the MKP is an instrument for the unification of all progressive forces. This is demonstrated by its first aim and objective, which is to “unite all the anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, and anti-racist progressive forces in South Africa to fight for total political, economic, social, spatial, cultural, and knowledge/ideological freedom and emancipation”.
The call for unification of the progressive forces is informed and inspired by the correct view that the fundamental philosophy that the greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressed is their unity in action.
The other important aims and objectives of the MKP as stated in the constitution include, but are not limited to, the genuine and practical objective:
To reclaim all the land and natural resources that were forcefully and violently taken from indigenous people and redistribute it to all the people equitably through the instrumentality of the democratic state.
To introduce free quality and decolonised education from elementary level to postgraduate level.
To recognise the traditional leaders through elevation of the National House of Traditional Leaders into one of the important components in law making processes in South Africa.
To contribute towards a progressive shift in the global balance of forces by strengthening institutions of the Global South like BRICS Plus and all its alliances.
To assemble the best, qualified, most skilled, and relevant people to provide responsive and responsible government that will benefit all the people of South Africa and maintain mutually beneficial economic, political, and social relationships with people of the African continent and the world.
To take over economic power and pursue economic expansion through purposeful state-led industrialisation.
To create full employment for all the people who need quality and sustainable jobs.
To fight for the interests, rights and aspirations of all workers, including the rights to unionise, to work in safe and protected workplaces, and the right to earn a living wage.
What these objectives do is place the MKP at the centre of real and fundamental change in South Africa, which will lead to total emancipation of the oppressed and exploited majority.
The MKP embraces its left and progressive internationalist character through its constitution, and it’s only such a programme that will bring about meaningful change and not right wing collaborationist politics and attitude.
The main ideological and political foundation of the MKP’s constitution is that partial political freedom and emancipation have not brought forth real economic, spatial, cultural, social, and knowledge/epistemic emancipation and freedom.
A people and country with political freedom and the right to vote and be voted into office remain in the chains of economic exploitation and subjugation. Even if political and economic emancipation were to be realised, there is still the need for total social, spatial, cultural, and epistemic emancipation and freedom.
The MKP therefore calls for the unification because our disunity solidifies continued white domination and oppression.
The leadership collective of the MKP did not have any doubts in conferring powers to appoint the leadership of the MKP and then delegate powers to the president and commander general of the organisation because the president currently is President Jacob Zuma.
We are confident that President Zuma is capable and responsible with political power and will never abuse such power. South Africa’s Constitution bestows a lot of political power on the head of state and government, including the power to appoint all ministers, ambassadors, directors general, judges, generals of the armed forces, and boards of important state owned companies.
During his tenure as president and head of state, President Zuma never abused his power. The MKP leadership collective therefore does not have any fears about bestowing on him the responsibility to appoint MKP leaders because he is the one who carries the ideological and portal vision of how the organisation should evolve.
President Zuma’s superior political guidance on the constitution includes an emphasis on respect for everyone, including political opponents. It’s from his ideologies and optical guidance that the MKP constitution prohibits all its members from insulting anyone, including insulting members of the opposition parties, even when provoked and instigated to do so.
The MKP constitution does not provide for an elective conference, and that is not a mistake. Party political conferences have in the recent past been platforms misused by those with money for transactional democracy.
MKP is not for sale and will not create platforms to be bought by the white capitalist establishment. The president will, however, determine and convene policy and consultative conferences to consult membership of key policy and organisational decisions that need collective guidance from the entire membership.
As a permanent feature of the organisation, the leadership is obliged to constantly consult with religious and traditional leaders from the length and breadth of South Africa, representing everyone.
Overall, the MKP’s Constitution is a solid and sound instrument to unify all the progressive forces in South Africa to democratically and decisively take over political power in South Africa, which will be used as an instrument for total freedom and emancipation.
* Floyd Shivambu is National Organiser of uMkhonto weSizwe Party. The views expressed here are his own.